2025 Atlantic City Marathon training

“Training for a race is going to be uncomfortable…you can fight it, which uses precious energy, or you can learn to embrace it.”

(Lisa McClellan)

The 2025 Atlantic City Marathon is fast approaching!

I decided to lay low with my training updates this year and concentrate on the grind of the process.  This will be my fourth go at the marathon distance, and I continue to learn more about myself and how to train.  I am proud of this training cycle with my consistency and ability to hit weekly mile markers. 

Maintaining a consistent bedtime (8:30 pm) ensures that I get enough rest and can get up for my early morning runs.  I find myself waking up on my own before my alarm clock goes off at 4:30 am.  I’m excited to train and it has been showing in my weekly efforts.

I have continued to leverage the Hal Higdon 18-week marathon training program for this cycle.  This program has helped me grow into a marathoner and is easy to understand and follow.  I have missed a few training sessions due to life (travel, work, rain) but I have found ways to keep my mileage up and mentally prepare for the 26.2-mile battle coming up in Atlantic City. 

I lowered my marathon personal record (PR) by over 23 minutes in Chicago last year and I want to lower it again in Atlantic City.  I revealed in my first Atlantic City marathon update that my goal time is 4:45 (four hours and forty-five minutes).  That would be a 35-minute reduction but I’m not backing down from my goal.  Will I hit it?  You will see soon! 😊

I leverage races to help me work on my speed and I’m happy with the results in my lead up to the 2025 Atlantic City marathon.  I ran a PR at the 2025 Virginia Beach 10-miler in September.  I ran 1:34:44 and that lowered my best time for this distance by two minutes.  My 2025 Outrun Hunger 5k time of 28:41 was not a PR but was a good indicator of my fitness considering the Fort Pierce humidity levels in September.  This all showed my training, fitness and mental approach were producing positive results. 

The final tune-up was conducted at the 2025 Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon in Hampton, New Hampshire.  I set my half marathon PR during this race two weeks before Atlantic City.  The 2:04:31 time was due to my training program, and the cool weather helped a lot.  (A blog article on this race is coming soon). 😊

Here’s my weekly mileage update:

Week 11	26.65
Week 12	33.28
Week 13	29.73
Week 14	34.64
Week 15	38.02
Week 16	34.3
Week 17	25
Week 18	9.62

Total Week 11 – Week 17:  228.98 

Total miles this training cycle: 583.74

Total Friday nights out: 0😊

I continue to learn how to train and recover for a marathon.  My body has felt good throughout this training cycle and I’m mentally tougher than in previous years.  I am excited to see how this new level of fitness and mental preparation shows up on race day.  Race fast and having fun are the main goals with a potential PR at the end—we will see!

Thanks for following the marathon training journey and see you on the other side of 26.2 miles in New Jersey.

What are you training for?

Fun fact: I started marathon training weighing 198 pounds and got down to 189 pounds at one point during this cycle.  I will toe the start line at 195 pounds this year. 😊

Irie!

Calvin Williams

“Aiming for the marathon is a task of sorts which can include terrific highs and lows.”

(Bill Rodgers)